The next day the sixteen students of Kakashi's advanced mytholgy course found themselves in Standford Hall. They met in groups and entered the library untill all were present by noon. Standford Hall's library was a huge expance of books and computers and just about anything one would need for research. To read the entire place would take years.
They split up into four groups to each cover another section of the massive library. Oni, Gaara, Nikki, and Kankurou searched the web on the four of the many computers available to students. Rachael, Itachi, Sakura, and Kiba searched the north side of the library while Ty, Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke searched the south side. Meanwhile Jess, Sai, Temari, and Lee went to search the National Geographics and other periodicals.
After hours of searching the gang had compiled a vast mountain of information surrounding the Shadow Hound. But within all they had gathered, none of them could find that one thing of information that would be the eye catching piece that Kakashi was always looking for.
Oni sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose, "I think we call it a night guys. If I stare at one more web page today my eyes are going to sustain permenant injury." She yawned slightly before pocketing her glasses in her bag as her group memebers nodded.
"I definately agree," Jess added slumping in a chair. "If I turn one more newspaper my hands are going to be dyed in black ink." The others of her group nodded looking at their fingers which had turned a blackish grey from handleing newspapers for most of the day.
It was soon decided they would take out all they could and come back tommorow during the day to write the paper. The librarian was starting to pack up as the mythology students just started to get their stuff in their bags. Withing five minutes fifteen students stood by the door with their bags and papers, one blonde had yet to join them.
"Oi, dobe. We're leaving," Sasuke called into the darkened library. The librarian had left and asked Hinata to close up since the young Hyuuga often came to help out in the library.
From the dark depth of the library they heard Naruto's responce, "Shut up and come here teme! I found something!" The group shrugged wondering what it could have been the idiot found. They shrugged their bags off their shoulders and left them by the door to go into the section of the library Naruto had wondered into.
"Ok so what did you find?" Temari asked leading the group into the room Naruto stood in. He had his back toward them so they could not see what it was he had found.
"This," he spun around and was holding a large leather bound text. The thing was clearly ancient as pages were tattered and a colored yellow while the binding itself was torn in several areas. He dropped it on a table and smirked.
"Where the hell did you find this?" Ty asked looking over the large book. "I searched this area myself! There is no way this book was here."
Naruto shrugged. "I honestly don't know myself Ty. I came to get my bags and nothing was there and then the lights went off. When I spun around it was there."
Hinata looked at the book Naruto had found. "Um. Isn't that writing the work of Aztecs?" she asked silently pointing at the title on the book.
"What ever it is, it isn't english," Kankurou said looking at it. "Hey Gaara, didn't you study ancient writings?"
The red head nodded and stepped to the front of the group surrounding the table. "This is Aztec if I'm not mistaken," he said softly as he pulled the massive text closer to himself.
"'A Legend Called Death: Stories of Shadow Hound Encounters' I think we may have hit something," Itachi mused reading over the red head's shoulder.
"Itachi you can read this stuff?" Rachael asked curiously next to him.
"Yeah. I forgot he went to South America to study this stuff a few years back," Sasuke added into the conversation.
"Someone open the book and read already. I want to know what the idiot found," Nikki whined from her spot near the table.
Gaara opened the cover and blew away some dust. He peered at the page in the dim light, there was a note in english stuck to the inside cover. Oni grabbed it and read aloud, "' My fellow collegues, if you are reading this note hidden inside this hidden text it means my death has come to me. I wish a warning for all who desire to find the Shadow Hound, do not attempt it. I took the risks and went and if you find this note it means I have not returned.'"
Looking over Oni's shoulder Kiba continued it since the girl fell silent, "'This book and the ruins are cursed. The book is drawn to the ruins, the longer this book is possesed by a mortal the stronger the urge it has to return to its home, and its owner will soon desire it as well. I have lost many friends to this curse and I fear my own life even as I write this note. I journeyed to the ruins, I will not tell you how. If you are fool enough to ignore this warning I wish to have no help in your premature death.'" Kiba paused and looked up, This guy must have been on something...seriously."
Jess took the paper from her friend and read the next part, squinting to see in the darkening light. "'This book has been sent to curse humanity. Through research my late collegues and I have found this book to have appeared in the homes of many a lost travellers over the years. We have come to find every decade this book shows its self to whoever it feels would aid its path of destruction. Once its deed is done it will seek out any who ever seen its cover until they fall trap to its power before being taken into what we have come to call the Shadow Realm where spirits dwell and hide the book away for a decade's time recover its power.'"
Sai looked at th paper and finished it, "'If you have come into contact with this book I have two words of advice: destroy it. Do what ever you must to keep it banished for eternity. Do not keep it, do not fall trap to its power like I and my collegues, it is to late for us.'" Sai looked up, "It's signed by a man named Shikamaru Nara."
"I know that name!" Sakura exclaimed tapping her head. "Nara..Nara..Nara...Oh! Shikamaru Nara was an English man who lived about seventyfive years ago before he was lost on his expedition to South America. No one ever saw him after that," the girl majoring in history said softly.
"Is this a thing of fiction? This is certainly not the youthful material one should find in a library," Lee spoke up and looked around. The group had fallen silent. No one spoke, no one knew what to say.
Sasuke grabbed the text and flipped it to the back cover. "There's no library card clot or a bar code on this book. It means it doesn't belong to the library."
"Spirit book," Nikki whispered.
Naruto laughed and snatched the book. "Guys you don't get what we have here! We have the perfect thing for our stupid papers! Forget the other books all we need is this!" he held it in the air and group watched as a single sheet of aged parchment fell from inside the book.
Kankurou picked it up and opened it. "Is it just me or is this a bloody map?" he questioned it as he shoved it into the face of his brother.
Gaara held the paper steady and read the Aztec writings across the paper. "It is a map, it says it is a map to the lair of the Shadow Hound."
Naruto began laughing as everyone around him stared like he had lost it, which they were pretty sure he had. "Guys you still don't get it! If we were to go to this place on the map and come back with proof we were there, and this book, we'll be disproving a legend! We'll be the new Myth Busters!"
The others looked at him still a little unsure but he continued. "See, we can go there for our spring break trip. All we have to do is tell the airlines tomorrow to switch our flights from Florida to the closest airport to whereever this is. We go to the ruins or cave or whatever the hell it is, come back with like a pot or some other historical thing and photos. We'll get As on out paper and make it in the papers. Hell they'll have to put us in the history texts for this!"
Kiba nodded, "I like this idea. I mean I can definately use the A and hell it's a once in a life time trip."
"Yeah once in a life time because you die when you get there," Temari scoffed looking at the group.
"Oh get over youself Temari. Come on, who's in?" Naruto asked bouncing around with the book under his arm. Slowly everyone agreed, for the second time in two days they were suckered into something by Naruto and Kiba. Temari gave up her lost battle and agreed as well. Naruto gave Itachi the book to take back to the dorms and go over it so they would know where it was they were going and some other details. Since it wasn't a library book, there was no need to check it out.
The group once again made for the exit, one more book in their piles. Hinata looked around before locking up and scurrying after Ty and the others.
No one noticed the shadowy form standing in the corner of the room they had just left. He stepped out, his hair up in a pointed ponytail, and stood in the light cast from the window. His form shimmered and the wall on the other side was visible through him. "I warned them of the dangers. They didn't listen and now they are going to die," the form spoke as the wind outside picked up and slight breeze inside pushed his form into nothingness. "Troublesome."
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Chapter notes: *claps hands together evilly* The real story starts now people. I hope you all enjoy and review.